The result of the Victorian by-elections in Werribee and Prahran on February 8 suggest the disillusion with the major parties is growing.
The Labor Party suffered a 16.7% swing against it in Werribee. However, the Liberal Party only gained a positive swing of 3.7%.
Both Labor and the Liberals received less than 30% of the primary vote.
More than 12 candidates ran on varied politics. Smaller parties and independents including the Greens, Legalise Cannabis and the Victorian Socialists gained from the disillusion with Labor.
So did independent Paul Hopper, whose platform included public transport, public safety, public health care and public education. He received 14.7%.
At the time of writing, Sue Munro, the Victorian Socialists (VS) candidate, received a strong primary vote of 7.3%, only slightly behind the Greens (that were at the top of the ballot) which received 7.5%.
The VS received a high 13% and 15% in some booths, despite the Murdoch media's concerted campaign against Munro, including alleging that she was antisemitic.
While the Werribee results are yet to be declared, Labor leads the Liberals by just of 1% in the two-candidate preferred count.
Reports suggest that Labor’s margin of 10.2% in the outer west of Victoria has dropped to a just 0.6%.
In the Prahran by-election, where Labor did not stand a candidate, Liberals won the seat from the Greens, which had held it since 2014.
Eleven candidates stood including the Animal Justice Party and a host of right-wing and conservative parties such as Family First Victoria, Libertarian Party and Sustainable Australia Party – Stop Overdevelopment/Corruption.
The right-wing Advance Australia group had mounted a concerted campaign against the Greens, accusing it of being “extremist” because it supports justice in Palestine and the decriminalisation of some drugs.
The Greens vote remained relatively stable, however, receiving up to 36.18% of the primary vote, compared to 36.40% in 2022.
Crikey's William Bowe suggested on February 10 that the low elector turn-out (just 64.3%) contributed to the Greens losing the seat.
Bowe also suggested that Tony Lupton, the last Labor MP for Prahran, who ran as an independent this time around and who urged voters to put the “toxic” Greens last, would have had an impact. Lupton received 12.8% of the primary vote.